On October 22, I released ShowNext for iPhone and iPhone Duo. The release came the afternoon before Duo's October 23 launch. Having the app ready for that launch had given the project a concrete deadline.
ShowNext is a native app for keeping track of television and movies, built around two everyday questions: what should I watch next, and what is coming soon?
The Today screen brings upcoming and recently aired episodes into a schedule. Discovery provides a way to explore shows and movies, look through streaming-service catalogs, and open details or trailers. Connecting a Trakt account brings in a personal library, watched history, progress, and Watchlist. People can browse the public catalog before deciding whether to connect their account.
Those capabilities shaped both the design and the development work. Artwork gives a title its presence, while episode information, dates, and progress help someone decide what to do next. I worked on bringing those pieces together in an interface that could move from a quick check of the day's schedule into a closer look at a show or film.
iPhone Duo added another set of design decisions. Its outer display supports a compact view. Opening the device creates room to keep a selected title and its details visible beside the browsing or schedule controls. Portrait and tabletop layouts change that relationship again.
Preparing for those different arrangements meant working through where information belonged, how controls should move, and what should remain visible as the layout changed. A selected title needed to remain the focus as someone moved between views. The expanded layout gave the artwork more room, while the schedule or discovery list still needed to be useful alongside it.
Getting to the App Store also involved the work around the app: preparing screenshots, describing the features accurately, documenting privacy practices, and responding to review feedback. The listing needed to explain clearly that ShowNext helps people discover and track entertainment. Films and episodes are watched through the appropriate external services.
Version 0.1 was released as a free app. It established a starting point for continued work on the experience, with an actual release behind it and a new device arriving the next day.
One design lesson from the project was how much a changing screen layout affects the relationship between content and controls. Duo made those choices especially visible. Deciding what deserved the extra space became part of deciding what ShowNext should help someone do.
Learn more on the official ShowNext page or download ShowNext on the App Store.